Sundered
by ReflectiveMuse
Summary: Before his departure from Rivendell, Aragorn makes the decision to separate from Arwen permanently.


**Sundered**

**Disclaimer:** It would be nice if they were mine, but they're not *sigh*.

**A/N:** This is the result of a bite from yet another rabid plot bunny (that I've actually written out, that is), inspired by a viewing of the "Evenstar" sequence from _The Two Towers_ extended edition. Simply put, this is how I imagined the scene might have played out if, rather than accepting Arwen's wish that they remain together, Aragorn broke with her. Enjoy, and as always, send some reviews my way. My muse and I would love to know what you think. :)

"Is this how you would take your leave?" A small smile graced Arwen's full lips as she glided to Aragorn's side. "Did you think you could slip away at first light—unnoticed?" The ranger did not react to her lighthearted, teasing words immediately; he merely sent a fleeting glance her way, an unreadable expression shadowing his rugged countenance. Disquiet crept up on Arwen but she forced it away, matching his pace as he moved and watching him closely.

"I will not be coming back." Arwen shook her head slightly at his words.

"You underestimate your skill in battle. You will come back." Aragorn slowed his steps, turning away from her.

"It is not of death in battle that I speak." The elf woman furrowed her smooth brow and stepped in front of her love, placing her hands on his arms and forcing him to stop.

"What do you speak of?" Aragorn gazed at her steadily, and her unease reasserted itself at the sadness and regret she saw in his eyes, changed to sharp distress when he responded.

"You have a chance for another life. Away from war…grief...despair…." Arwen pulled in a shallow breath, her lovely face paling.

"Why are you saying this?" she questioned, her voice no more than a whisper.

"I am mortal. You are Elf-kind. It was a dream, Arwen. Nothing more." She stared at him in astonishment, unable to accept what she was hearing.

"I don't believe you." An internal cry of denial rose within her as the man removed the pendant she had given him and held it out.

"This belongs to you," he said simply, offering no other explanation. Arwen inhaled deeply, calming herself. She regarded the jewel for a moment and then locked eyes with him, reaching out, gently but firmly setting it back onto his palm and closing his fingers around it.

"It was a gift," she murmured, her tone soft and resolute all at once. _"Keep it."_ Aragorn looked at the sparkling object cradled in his hand, keenly aware of the Elf's gaze on him. The two remained as they were for an eternal moment before the man extended the jewel once more.

"I cannot," he whispered, fighting the sorrow that gripped him more tightly with each passing instant. "It is not mine to keep." Arwen refused to take the pendant, her features dimming with hurt.

"This is my gift to you, Estel. It is yours, as is my heart. Once given, such a gift cannot be reclaimed or returned." Aragorn briefly closed his eyes against the stinging heat forming behind them.

"Some gifts, Arwen, are too precious to be given—."

"No." The Elf cut him off, tears welling in her luminous eyes. "_No_, Estel. Do not do this. We are bound to each other…we are part of each other. My heart knows this is meant to be." The Evenstar's narrow shoulders trembled in a barely withheld sob. "Do not forsake our bond. Do not forsake me." Aragorn found himself needing to close his eyes once more.

"You are meant to remain among your people…to travel with them to the West and live out the fullness of your days. Not to linger here, in a place where there is nothing for you save uncertainty and death. That is why I set you free." Arwen's eyes drifted shut, crystalline tears cascading down her white face like rain. She wrapped her slender hands around his arms again and held on, shaking her head and choking out his name. Dragging in a shuddering breath, she tilted her face back up to his, and his heart broke at the utter misery he saw there.

"Do not do this," she implored once again, her eyes pleading with him to reconsider. "I beg you." His throat tightened with the urge to weep, but he held on to his composure through sheer force of will. He wordlessly offered the pendant one last time, forcing his expression to reflect a distant tranquility he did not feel.

"Take it, Arwen. Take it and depart these lands."

"No…." Arwen backed away and brought both hands to her face as a fresh torrent of tears spilled over. "It was a gift," she bit out in strangled Elvish. "It was a gift…." With that she turned and fled, her slim body wracked with her pain. Aragorn remained motionless, numbly listening to the sound of her soft, aching sobs fade as she retreated. Unconsciously, he shifted his eyes to the pendant and stared at it for several long minutes. It seemed muted somehow, as though a pale shadow had fallen over it and diminished its light. The sight of it destroyed what little remained of Aragorn's composure and silent, burning tears slipped down his cheeks. He tried to tell himself that he had done the right thing, had made the only choice he could make. But as Arwen's broken, desolate entreaty echoed in his mind, he could feel nothing but bitter anguish at the sundering of their bond.


End file.
